Enhanced oxygen evolution reaction by controlled assembly of Co₃O₄ nanorods on TiB₂ nanosheets

Cobalt oxide (CO) and Titanium boride hybrid composites are synthesized via hydrothermal reaction conditions followed by attentive calcination. Exfoliated Titanium boride (ETB) nanosheet templates are used for the first time to skillfully decorate CO nanorods on it. As-synthesized diverse hybrid composites ETB@CO (1, 3, and 5) are optimized for the electrochemical properties and weight ratios of CO and ETB nanosheets altered accordingly. Various spectroscopic techniques are used to characterize the as-synthesized hybrid composite materials. Standard electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and Chronopotentiometry (CP) are used to discover the electro-catalytic behavior of hybrid composites. The composite ETB@CO-3 recorded outstanding performance by exhibiting a lower overpotential of 271 mV, with a cramped Tafel slope of 42.4 mV dec⁻¹ for electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The composite ETB@CO-3 clamour a lower overpotential of 271 mV to attain the current density of 10 mA/cm² than the other composite ratio. Furthermore, the composite ETB@CO-3 displayed remarkable stability over 24 h with continuous OER reaction by maintaining stable voltage at 10 mA/cm² current density and exhibited no noticeable increase in overpotential, suggesting its feasibility in practical applications.